Jannik Sinner was dealing with a lot when he commenced his 2026 Wimbledon campaign against Miomir Kecmanovic.
For the first time he experienced the traditional honour of opening the Day 1 Centre Court schedule as defending champion – an occasion that comes with unique nerves.
He was playing on the slickest, freshest grass of the tournament, which led to some awkward slips and heart-in-the-mouth moments – plus a bloodied foot.
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He was combatting an opponent who led two sets to one and forced him to recover to win in five sets – a bar he has lately been unable to clear.
Yet the world No.1 eventually won 4-6 6-3 6-7(8) 6-2 6-3, snapping a five-match losing streak in five-set matches and booking a second-round clash with Nuno Borges.
“First match is never easy, as we saw. My first official match on grass court after a year. So very happy about today's match, even though a tough one. Very much needed,” Sinner said.
“I try to stay there mentally, trying also to enjoy the moment because it has been an amazing day for me and my team as well. Coming here, opening match on Centre Court, it's a huge privilege.
“It's tough to describe… this year was a year where nobody practised on [Centre Court] before, so it was brand-new. Mentally you know it.”
Sinner had lost eight of his past nine five-set matches at Grand Slams, including the last five dating back to 2024. The last time he prevailed in five was in the Australian Open 2024 final, when he overcame Daniil Medvedev to win his first Slam title.
Sinner’s most recent five-setter came at Roland Garros, where as the red-hot title favourite he led Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3 6-2 5-1 before fading to a shock defeat.
In his first official match since that unexpected result, Sinner showed some understandable signs of nerves and rust as he played Wimbledon for the first time without a grasscourt tune-up event under his belt.
Leading 40-0 at 4-4 in the first set, the top seed suddenly lost nine points in a row to drop the opener.
Having survived a nasty-looking slip in the third set, he held a set point in the subsequent tiebreak before Kecmanovic snatched three points in a row to move to within a set of victory.
It was also during the third set when patches of Sinner’s white shoe began turning red with blood, which he confirmed was caused by his nail.
“One fall is a tough one because you can get injured,” Sinner said. “I got lucky there because things can go wrong very, very quickly. I try to still trust in my movement. Also third, fourth and fifth set was very important to keep moving in a very natural way, which I did.
“I'm very glad nothing happened.”
The defending champion steadied, breaking in the sixth game of the fourth and fifth sets to progress.
It marked the first time Sinner had been stretched to five sets in the opening round at a Grand Slam tournament since the 2022 US Open.
“The plus-one shot of him today was very, very strong. Even though sometimes I returned very well, he was always playing the first ball very well, and I struggled a bit. So that's something where we need to improve,” said Sinner, who avoided becoming the first defending Wimbledon men’s champion to lose in the opening round in 23 years.
“I had my chances in the third set. Couldn't use them. Tried to reset myself as fast as I could. Trying to hold serve the first couple of service games are very, very important because if he breaks you straightaway, it is tough to come back. I think that's it. Not ideal position.”
Despite the struggles he faced on Monday, there was plenty to like about what Sinner produced on Centre Court. He crushed 31 aces to Kecmanovic’s one, won 22 of 25 points at the net, and hit twice as many winners – 32 to 16 – off the ground.
The victory, completed in three-and-a-half hours, takes his Wimbledon winning streak to eight.
With first-round nerves and cobwebs hopefully shaken from his system, Sinner will hope to continue his history of deep runs at Wimbledon, where he has not fallen before the quarterfinals since 2021.
“It has been an amazing, amazing day for me to feel this way at least once in my life. I think I handled the situation still quite well. It was a very nervy, but very happy that I found a way today,” Sinner said.
“Now we have one day, tomorrow, which hopefully gives us a little bit time and the right rhythm to get back the next day.
“Hopefully I have the chance to play couple of matches and then we see how I move.”